The highlight of last Saturday’s Distribution was without a doubt, the poetry of Esi Grant. Esi just got out of the hospital, she had not been outside in four or five days, but her joy infected everyone around her. She was kind enough to share two of her poems with us.

After this next one, she hugged us all, and left. Leaving behind her inspiration and her joy. What a great break in our distribution! She filled our hearts.

We distributed 117 chili meals and 200 waters. A HUGE thank you to our favorite teenagers, the gals from Student Advocated for Animal Rights in Edward Murrow High School for holding a vegan bake sale in their school and surprising us with a $150.00 donation! They are truly an inspiration for the future, engaged participatory comitted youth. I look forward to continuing collaboration with them in the summer, with the new club leadership next school year, and to follow the new graduates in their college careers. They are off to do greater and bigger things, but I am sure they will continue to bring light to their communities, wherever they find themselves. I could not be prouder of the Veganteers!

Surprising donation from the Student Advocates for Animal Rights

I want to thank the Veganteers on Saturday, Erika, Hannah, Grace, Julianna, Melissa, Tia, Christopher, Bear, Ollie, and Ivan. We couldn’t have done it without you! We brought a little relief to a Saturday afternoon!

Melissa and Tia Team ready for distribution in the vicinity of the park.Erika manages the table.

DistributingDistributingDistributing.

Esi’s poem might be titled, Why Do People Still Hate, but our Saturday Distributions are filled with nothing but love. Thank you for the love.

We distributed 113 chili, 200 water bottles, and 4 vegan dog food bags in a two hour span, thanks to our awesome veganteers, Dave, Erika, Christopher, Bear, Alicia, Ollie, Ivan, and Hannah. This was made possible by contributions made by Joanne Ehret. We did not have enough volunteers to go off and distribute in the vicinity of the park, so we stayed within it. Although the cloudy weather and the threat of rain kept people away, there was still enough of a need in the park to fulfill.

Dave and Erika distributing.Erika distributing vegan chili.Park employees who were hard at work cleaning, stopped by later to enjoy a vegan chili.Lovely gentleman and Cinderella.

We are seeing repeat faces, getting to know the lovely Amanda, who has a way with the kids, and who also did us the favor of spreading the word that we were there.

Bear handing a water to Amanda.

Also seeing repeat doggy faces, like Frank’s baby.

Frank and his Baby.

We didn’t get a chance to take a lot of pictures while distributing, but when there were lulls in the rushes, I concentrated on the volunteers. Ollie and Bear have lots of fun together, as long as there are no sticks between them. Ollie loved this park passerby, Adela. He really loves the babies. And he got Dave to carry him horsey. After the distribution, we went out for some vegan ice cream at Sustainable NYC.

Ollie and Bear playing.Ollie and AdelaDave the horsey.Ollie and Hannah enjoy a vegan ice cream treat!

The trains were not working properly and I had to transfer a couple of times, struggling with the weight of the carts up and down the subway stairs by myself with Ollie. Some people had shoved us a little in the train, a certain sense of not having expressed myself successfully, and just a general sadness tied to a tiring day had settled in the train ride home. But as soon as I stepped out of my subway stop in Brooklyn, the sky had a lovely message for me. Keep heart. And really, that’s all I have, so I might as well hold on to it. A Heart that beats for the animals, for people in hardship, for my family and my community; a Heart that beats for a possible, better, softer, more just world for everyone, myself included. Keep Heart, and do more. Always do more.

April Showers and May Flowers. Here are our amazing blooms: close to 800 meals in the month of May! 800!

An amazing accomplishment, thanks to our Veganteers in New York, Portland, Denver, San Diego, and Puerto Rico!

I am proud and grateful beyond words and very excited about the future. If we can feed 800 people in a month out of our kitchens, imagine what we can do once we are established in a commercial kitchen?! I know this will happen, and our numbers, the amount of people that we help will keep on multiplying. 800 meals in a month! Help us continue this work! Make a donation! Share it with your friends! Help us increase this number!

This past weekend, San Diego and Puerto Rico distributed vegan chili to the homeless and the community. Thank you Tara and Nikki, and Zuleyka and Janice for dishing out compassion! Here are pictures of their distributions:

It’s easy for me to get hung up on numbers. I was a program data director for non-profits in my previous life. My days revolved around numbers, goals and outcomes, meeting quotas, measuring progress. Now as I seek funding for Chilis on Wheels, I also go back to my training and concentrate on numbers, which foundations seem to thrive on. This weekend alone was fantastic for numbers: In NY: 125 meals. 200 water bottles, 4 dog-food bags. 12 vegan education engagements; in San Diego: 30 meals, 30 water bottles; in Puerto Rico: 15 meals, 13 water bottles, 4 dog food bags. The numbers were great! But, it’s not about numbers. I am not removed from what we do. 125 meals, means 125 people, with faces and names and lives, experiencing hardships at a level I cannot thoroughly understand.

125 people that stop to chat with us and wish us luck, and shake our hands, and allow us to glimpse a world beyond our own, allow us for a very brief period of time, to understand that the world does not in fact revolve around us. And I’m not going to lie, it give us a sense of purpose in our lives and a satisfaction of doing our part to ease someone else’s hardship even if it is as momentary a relief, as providing lunch, and a smile, and a chat, and handshake.

This weekend the kids really stepped up. Ollie and Bear scouted the park letting people know that we were there, encouraging them to get a warm meal. They then also gave out chili and water at the table. I really enjoy seeing the kids engaged in their community, having a positive frame around the word “work”, and really having genuine fun helping people.

Bear, Christopher, and Ollie scout the park.Bear gives out chili and water at the table-Ollie distributes water- **Photo by Laura Kolbe Dotterer**

Our other youth, our teenagers were also Veganteers with us this weekend. Grace, a senior from Ed Murrow, became team leader as she took charge of a cart and distributed along Avenue C and the park’s vicinity.

While at a table we met a number of people curious about veganism and we talked to them about it, and shared ways in which they too can incorporate compassion in their diet. Some kind people even made donations, with which we purchased more water bottles as we ran low.

Kind woman making a donation- we mostly depend on individual donations and are super grateful to our donors! **Photo by Laura Kolbe Dotterer**

Overall it was another great Saturday distribution, and a huge thanks goes to the people whose donations made it possible: Amanda Fields and Ronald Manning. And a huge thanks to our Veganteers: Anthony, Julianna, Christopher, Bear, Ollie, Ivan, Grace, Melissa, and Laura.

The numbers don’t lie, we ARE providing a much needed service to the community, and we are ambitious in our goals of becoming a permanent vegan food-hub in the community, but it’s because of people like John and Ed, and Tyrone, Aaron, and Maria. Because we want to help one another, because food should be free and no one should ever go hungry, and animals are lives and should never be considered food.

**Here are some pictures of the distribution, courtesy of Laura Kolbe Dotterer. (Stay tuned in a few days for pictures of San Diego and Puerto Rico’s distribution!)**

John and EdWe added a bed of rice in order to stretch out our portionsDistributing chiliChiliWe feed the entire family- vegan chili and vegan dog foodGrace and Melissa- teenagers from Ed Murrow High School take a break after a chili runDistributingTony shared thoughts on chili in differents parts of the worldAntwon who just got back from PhiladelphiaIn between crowdsChilis on Wheels Drive thruFun in the communityOllie distributesAnthony distributesJulianna distributes..ByeOllie had some vegan chocolate ice cream!GraceAt the tableTyroneGiving out the napkinsVeganteersJohn and EdWe are done for the week. See you next time!..Ollie helps tie up the carts with the bungee chordsChilis on Wheels- Help us dish out compassion! Donate today.

Memorial Day Weekend Distributions in the Portland and Denver chapters!

Denver Chapter had its first distribution! They served 30 meals and water bottles! Everything went by so fast, they didn’t even get a chance to take pictures! They will be doubling their servings for next time, they were so touched by need that they immediately stopped to buy a second pot for their next distribution.

Vegan chili in reusable bowlsJackie unloading the chili in the cooler on wheelsDenver chapter was so enthused with their distribution, they immediately stopped in a store to buy a second pot to double the meals for next distribution

Portland Chapter gave out 49 chili, biscuit, and coleslaw! This is what they had to say: “We ended up with 18 quarts of chili. Enough for 49 servings. 46 of coleslaw and a small mountain of biscuits. Everyone was so sweet and thankful. The gratitude they showed was humbling. It’s just a drop in the bucket really and it’s not that hard to do. These people face more difficulties in a single day than we do in a year and they were giving US blessings! We’re all in this together and we need to take better care of each other.”

Coleslaw and other deliciousnessChilis on Wheels ready for a distributionChilis on Wheels wagon!Distributing

I am so incredibly moved by these efforts! Thank you Peter and Kim, Jackie and Karen for all you do, and the teams of Veganteers! Together we are helping our community, and being compassionate to animals, the environment, and people!

Stay tuned next weekend for another New York, San Diego and Puerto Rico distribution!

That’s how our Saturday distribution of vegan chili started. We packed it all up and drove to the city. Upon crossing the street in to the park and before even clearing the ramp we were swamped by a crowd of people asking for a chili. We have never had an experience like this. People were shoving each other, trying to get something to eat. Think about it, they are so hungry they were pushing and shoving to get something to eat. My world was transformed this Saturday, once again.

The crowd having us barely make it into the sidewalk.The crowd.Making a line.

Thankfully, Stephanie saw us and came to us and helped us manage the crowd and give out the chili. We could not have done it without her. People listened to her and respected her, and then made a line that we took care of. In 5 to 10 minutes we gave out close to 60 of those chili meals.

Stephanie, who helped us manage the crowd. Thank you so much! You were amazing!

None of the volunteers had yet even arrived!! What were we going to do?!

Julianna went to get bagels at a nearby supermarket. Anthony bought bags of vegan sandwiches from a nearby health food store. Jon from Community Solidarity who we just happened to see by coincidence had a case of bananas on his car and gave it to us to distribute. Day Saved!

Volunteers came, a lot this week, and we stayed in Tompkins Square Park since need was so overwhelming there. We served 200 people in this park alone! 200!

Our volunteers really saved the day though. Ollie and Bear gave out the bananas and later scouted the park telling people we were there. Volunteers prepared some sandwiches and bagels and also went around in the perimeter of the park and its close vicinity.

Making vegan sandwiches and bagelsNew Veganteers- Jamison and CandaceGiving out bagelsDistributing vegan mealsBear and Ollie take a snack break after distributing bananas and scouting the park for people to come get their meals.

Edward Murrow Student Advocates for Animal Rights gals! (and Audrey)

We met Israel, who has lived in the Lower East Side for 50 years and he told us there has been a lot of changes, that there is a lot less poverty now, but that people are still hurting. He also filled me in on a little history of Tompklns Square Park, how it has seen riots because “people get angry when they don’t have anything to eat”. And a little more research upon this park proves his point. The birthplace of so many political uprisings, what an amazing park.

Israel- who gave me a history on Tompkins Square Park: “People get angry when they don’t have something to eat.”

We met Andrea, a vegetarian travelling from New Orleans. She’s trying to go vegan and the guy she’s staying with is vegan so she thinks she’ll be able to do it. She took some of the new Evolve for Animals leaflets.

Andrea- transitioning to veganism.

We met Cassandra, she lives nearby and happened to stumble across us. She loved the chili and will be coming back next week to get more. She thanked us profusely for being out here.

Cassandra-

If I learned something this Saturday is that our model has already been outgrown. Until we find a kitchen where we can prepare three times, four times as much food, we will not be able to spread out as much as I had anticipated and our service will be this localized and specific and limited. I continue sending proposals to fund a space, as well as reaching out to churches and community centers in Manhattan to see if they would allow us to use their kitchens. Something is bound to materialize eventually. All I know is that I stumbled upon this need, and it has transformed into my calling. I cannot ignore it, and I am obsessively trying to improve it and grow it, all in the service of the community and while being compassionate to animals, the environment, and people.

This week’s distribution was made possible by contributions from Ruth Allison and Mark Meunier and by on the spot donations and amazing volunteer work of our Veganteers: Julianna, Grace, Melissa, Hannah, Anthony, Audrey, Nick, Alyssa, Jamison, Candace, Sebastian, Dave, Christopher, Bear, Ollie, and Ivan.

We are making a difference in the lives of people! 200 people this week!